Hey all, I was curious to hear anyone's thoughts / experiences with Dr. Daniel Amen and his work? I read his "Making a Good Brain Great" a year or so ago and just reviewed it recently.
My thoughts:
-Overall seemed like a good book for the general, non-technical audience
-As with most books on the brain intended for a general audience (I've been reading through a lot of them at Borders), a lot of the information is pretty obvious--exercise, seek intellectual stimulation, etc.
-His take on supplements is unabashedly overenthusiastic (this definitely stood out, because this time I read the book directly after reading a number of Cochrane Reviews and other literature reviews on nootropic supplements, and it was interesting comparing the two...Amen's book coincidentally only quoted the positive studies, many of which have been called into question in literature reviews due to their small sample sizes, outdated methodology, or other problems)
-In contrast, his take on drugs seemed negatively biased. For example, he comes out strongly against nicotine. I'm a little biased because I followed Yesavage's group when I was at Stanford, and he conducted a number of studies showing nicotine improving cognitive enhancement significantly (far more than the "nootropic supplements"...not that I'm against supplements, but it seemed that nicotine's effects are more definitive and more significant). In Amen's defense, I believe he's making an argument more from the perspective of long-term health rather than short-term enhancement.
-He is *obsessed* with SPECT (anyone who read the book can probably vouch for that...he goes on and on about it, as if it's the greatest diagnostic tool ever...)
This is the basic "stack" that he seemed to recommend for everyone:
Acetyl-L-carnitine (500-1500mg a day
Alpha lipoic acid (100-200mg a day)
Fish oil (1-2g a day)
Vitamin B complex (400-800mcg folate, 50mg B6, 500-1000mg B12)
Vitamin C (250mg twice a day)
Vitamin E (100 I.U. twice a day
I'm curious to hear what you guys think about Amen's stack, and his book / expertise / etc.